26 Easy Things to Declutter in 2026 + TALLY CHART

If we lack motivation, it can help tremendously to start with EASY action steps. Today, I wanted to talk about 25 relatively easy things to declutter. They don’t take a lot of thought–we can simply declutter them.

25 Easy Declutter Items

1. Expired medicine

OTC meds can be tossed in the trash; controlled substances can either be mixed with coffee grounds and thrown away or taken to a local pharmacy to dispose of.

2. First-aid items

How many of us purchase a first-aid kit and leave it sitting in the car for years–do the bandaids still stick? Are the ointments still effective?

3. Grocery bags

I know in some areas, single-use plastic bags are no longer allowed, but in many areas, they are still used, and if you’re like me and don’t want to throw them into the trash, they build up. We do use them when we take the dogs for walks and clean out the little box, but if you have an abundance, let’s get rid of them.

Some grocery stores will accept them for recycling, and in our area, the homeless shelter will take them, as well as the women’s prison, because they run a dog training program.

4. Expired makeup

Did you know makeup expires? If you look at the labels, you will find how many months they are good for after they are opened.

Because I don’t wear makeup often, it stays in the drawer forever, and then I realize how it’s five years old; I probably shouldn’t be putting that mascara on when my eyes are already sensitive.

5. Unmatched socks

I had socks from when my kids were babies. If we found the missing one, no one could wear it anyway.

Minimalist sock hack:

Buy your socks in the same style and color–every sock goes with every other sock. No more missing singles.

6. Worn-out underwear

We all deserve better than to wear nasty, worn-out underwear! If you’re like me and tend to use the, “Well, they still WORK, technically,” mindset, then do yourself a favor: Replace the undies.

7. Receipts

I will keep receipts sometimes. When I mail a package, I keep the tracking receipt until I know they’ve been received. But as a general rule, I throw receipts away as soon as I know an item works–I try on the clothes, etc.

Here’s what I know about myself: I HATE running errands. If I have a bad apple in my bag of apples, I will simply throw the bad apple away and eat the rest. I do not want to bother with running around town to make sure I get my $2 back. I view my time as valuable, and since I absolutely hate running errands, I consider that a price I am willing to pay.

Minimalist receipt hack:

Designate an area to keep your receipts and other temporary-keep paperwork. Set a time (weekly or monthly) to flip through and toss or address action items.

8. Extra Tupperware

Building up a collection of food-saving containers is easy. But they can take up so much space, and we don’t actually need that many of them. I keep about 10 of various sizes, and when we run out of containers, it’s my cue to know we need to have a leftover night for dinner.

Minimalist food storage tip:

If you’re attached to saving containers (like plastic ones from yogurt and other items), then limit it to the most convenient size and type for you. If you don’t have a specific purpose for it, don’t keep it. If you have a product you use often, and it’s in a convenient type of container, only save that type, so they’ll stack conveniently.

9. Expired condiments

I’ve purchased dressings, only used them once, and then let them sit in the fridge for two years. Let’s move those things along. If we don’t like it, we don’t like it. They’re only supposed to last for a few months, anyway.

10. Stale snack foods

Just like the condiments, some of those chip bags get put back into the pantry and forgotten about. They’ll taste like plastic or cardboard by the time you finally muscle up the courage to try one.

If they’re still good, but no one in your household likes them, pass them along to your local food pantry and save yourself the pantry space.

How To Organize a Pantry Like a Pro

11. Sample packets

Ketchup, salt, pepper, mayo, shampoo, soaps, supplements, toothpaste–if you’re not in the habit of using them up, there is no need to hold onto them. (Shelters will often take soaps/shampoos/toothpaste, if unopened.)

12. Swag

Shirts, pens, Koozies, cheap bags, and other relatively useless items you’ve saved up from conferences or local businesses. We don’t need a pen from every bank in town. How many book bags can we POSSIBLY use?

If it’s not a fav, toss it.

13. Newspapers/sale flyers

Throw these right in the recycling–that’s where they belong.

14. Old candles

Candles don’t last. I know it’s tempting to keep them for when the electricity goes out, but after a few years, the candles may not burn. I kept some to use on a “special occasion” and then 15 years later–I finally decided to light them, and they wouldn’t stay lit! I had to throw them away.

Use these types of items! Don’t save the candles, the fancy soaps, the bath bombs, and other luxuries for a “special occasion”. Every day is a special occasion, and those things won’t last forever. Use them up, or get rid of them!

Minimalist candle tip:

If you’re knee-deep in a candle collection you could never possibly burn through before they expire, add them to gift baskets for housewarmings and other gift-giving occasions!

15. Christmas cards

I know it seems uncomfortable to throw away something that a friend or family member mailed to us, but they don’t expect us to keep them forever–we can let those go.

16. Magnets

Especially promotional magnets–keep the magnets on the fridge that you enjoy, and toss the ones from the lawn service that you didn’t hire.

While you’re there, toss or store the paper buildup on the fridge.

17. Toiletries you don’t like

If we don’t like the smell or the function of something, there is no point in holding onto it – we’re not going to one day decide we like it. If it’s barely used, offer it to friends or in a buy-nothing group. People often enjoy testing out products without having to spend money to do it.

18. Broken things

I learned long ago that I don’t fix things. My kids would bring me a toy, and I knew I was capable of super-gluing it together, but it would just sit in the junk drawer for YEARS. Finally, I acknowledged that I shouldn’t make promises I wasn’t going to keep.

So I started being honest: I am not going to fix it. It’s ok, it doesn’t make me a bad mom, I’m actually a better mom than I used to be because now at least I’m honest instead of giving my kids false hope that I would fix it.

19. Boxes

Okay, I know this is unnecessarily “EASY,” but if we have empty boxes lying around that we haven’t used–we can see that we don’t need them, and we can let them go.

20. Packing supplies

Peanuts, bubbles, old boxes, etc. I know I get packing materials and think, “Oh, maybe I should save this for when I mail something.” The truth is I only mail things at Christmas. So If it’s November, it makes sense to save SOME packing materials, but I don’t need to save them up all year to ship out 2 boxes of things. All those “just in case” items are consuming too much of the space in our homes.

Minimalist packing material tip:

If you’re a frequent package-shipper, save your items in a reasonable amount by designating one area for storage. I have a hope chest my grandfather made for me, and any packing materials that don’t fit in there get the boot. If I want to save something new, something else will have to go.

21. Cleaners you don’t use

Just like toiletries, we can’t force ourselves to like something, and it doesn’t work to force something to work for us. It’s okay if we have preferences, and this item isn’t one of them.

We’ve already spent more emotional energy feeling bad about spending money and then not liking it–it’s not going to give back the money or the energy by continuing to sit in our cupboards. Don’t let the sunk cost fallacy convince you to hold onto them. Try to donate products that are still good to your local halfway home.

22. Duplicate kitchen items

How many cans do we open at one time? Then why do we have 2 different can openers? Let’s pick the one that works best and let the other go–it’s that way with all our kitchen items. They’re just supposed to serve us, and if we only need one at a time, pick the best one. It’s enough to have one.

Keep the best, ditch the rest.

23. Things waiting for that “garage sale”

Okay, so I know this isn’t always EASY, but you’ve already made the decision to let these items go. If they have been sitting for more than a year and you haven’t had a garage sale, save yourself the headache and take them to the donation center.

Garage sales are like having to declutter 3 times–first, there is when we make the decision: “I’m going to get rid of this” and then when you are laying everything out and pricing it you have to make that decision again, “Oh look, I liked this item, am I sure I want to get rid of it??” and then you either have to watch it get sold for way less than what you think it’s worth, or you have to pack it up for the donation center, making the decision a final time.

And do you make money from garage sales? After adding up all the fees and the time invested, the last time I had a garage sale, I made $5/hour. If that’s the case, I’d rather spend my hours doing other things.

24. The mending pile

Now, I’m a big proponent of making do with what we have, learning to repair and mend items, and making efforts toward lowering my household’s consumption.

However…

If you have that pile of clothing to be mended, and you haven’t touched it in months, you’re not going to. You’re probably better off getting rid of it.

Minimalist mending tip:

Assign a box or basket for all items in need of fixing or mending, then designate a day (weekly or monthly) to go through that box and address those action items OR decide that you’d rather get rid of it, then do that.

25. The couponed hoard

In my experience, many minimalists (and aspirational minimalists) were, at some point, couponers. That means you likely have a decent stock of some RANDOM stuff. With coupons, we bend to the will of whatever that business is promoting. And in many cases, we’re tempted to stock up on items that we simply don’t use.

If you have a ton of bar soap and you strictly use body wash, what are we doing here?

Take the products you don’t use regularly and bless someone else with them.

26. Streaming services

Let’s get back to pirating. 🏴‍☠️ Every other day, we’re boycotting some streaming service or other, their prices are hiking constantly, they’re making it more difficult to share accounts with family members, charging extra for each screen… I say we clip ’em! Cancel your subscriptions (or at least a few of them) for cash in your pocket. Then get something like Stremio or Plex or a LIBRARY CARD for much more affordable access to the same programs. Happy sailing! ⚓

Declutter MORE items in 2026.

Join our annual decluttering challenge! All you have to do is get rid of 2,026 items before the end of 2026.

You can download your free tally chart here!